Auburn Tigers

Auburn Tigers

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Auburn redshirt sophomore QB Jarrett Stidham said that if the team stays healthy, "anything can happen."

"I’m very critical of myself but at the end of the day, we’ve got a great team, we’ve got a great coaching staff, great support staff," Stidham said. Auburn named him starting quarterback on Monday. The former Bear threw for 1,265 yards with a 12/2 TD/INT ratio in 2015 while starting three games and appearing in 10 before transferring to Auburn.

Auburn named redshirt sophomore QB Jarrett Stidham their starter for the coming season.

Stidham beat out incumbent starter Sean White for the starting honors. The Baylor transfer has long been viewed as the frontrunner for the job. He was a five-star recruit out of high school and saw three games of starting action as a true freshman with the Bears in 2015, throwing for 1,265 yards with a 12/2 TD/INT ratio while rushing for 70 yards and two scores. We like Stidham's potential to help level up what was a limited passing game last season. Auburn should be considered a darkhorse Playoff contender with him manning the ship.

Whitlow (5'11/175) has not been completely ruled out for the opener, but he will have to make some headway on the health front over the next few weeks if he is to suit up against Georgia Southern on September 2. This would be a very minor loss for the Tigers, as the three-star recruit did not figure to see extensive work early given the loaded state of Auburn's running backs room.

Auburn OC Chip Lindsey said that he likes what he has seen from sophomore TE Sal Cannella in the early going of camp.

"He’s got a little edge about him — it’s impressive. He’s a smart football player, knows how to route-run, has really good body control, does a great job catching the ball with his hands. I like what he’s bringing to the table so far," Lindsey said. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder is not being viewed strictly as a tight end, as he was working with the wide receivers group during the first week of practice. Auburn HC Gus Malzahn said that Lindsey will likely move the versatile Cannella around during the season depending on what the team needs offensively.

Moultry (6'3/218) sat out practice on Saturday and likewise sat out Monday's scrimmage. Whatever injury he is currently dealing with would apparently be minor. He was a four-star recruit in Auburn's 2017 recruiting class.

Auburn freshman T Calvin Ashley was held out of practice on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury.

Ashley was not dressed during the open practice-window for the media. Just what he is dealing with is currently unknown. The 6-foot-7, 330-pounder was a five-star recruit in the 2017 class, with ESPN's Edward Aschoff being of the belief that he could potentially make noise for starting duties during the coming season. Any prolonged injury absence in camp would dim those chances.

Auburn redshirt sophomore RB Kamryn Pettway and senior RB Kerryon Johnson are being held out of scrimmages.

"We’ll see moving forward if those guys, if we decide the second scrimmage or even the third scrimmage to get them tackled. We haven’t decided that yet," said Auburn HC Gus Malzahn. He passed along that both Pettway and Johnson are "healthy right now." The pair make for one of the best running back duos in the SEC and it's not a huge surprise that Malzahn and company are easing them into the flow of action -- particularly in the case of Johnson, who struggled with ankle injuries last season and again in the spring.

Stidham was sacked twice and threw a pick-six in the scrimmage. He rotated between the first- and second-team offense with fellow quarterbacking combatant Sean White. After practice, Auburn HC Gus Malzahn downplayed any concern about Stidham's foibles, saying, "There's going to be all kinds of teaching moments — down and distance, moving the football, pace, everything that goes with it, communication, situations." Like Malzahn, we are unconcerned. It's important to remember that this is Stidham's first preseason camp as an active participant since he transferred over to Auburn from Baylor prior to the 2016 season. We like him to win the starting job over White when all is said and done this month.

"Have you ever seen him? He’s a big kid. I wish I came in looking like that," Slayton said of the 6-foot-2, 224-pound Davis. The sophomore wideout missed spring practice due to a personal matter, but has since returned to the team, with Slayton saying, "It’s good to have him back out there." This past season, then-true frosh Davis logged a 12-248-2 receiving line.

SEC Country's Justin Ferguson passes along that Auburn sophomore TE Sal Cannella is a Tiger on the rise early in camp.

Cannella (6'5/225) was working with the wide receivers group during the three open-media practice windows last week. Writes Ferguson, "Cannella looks smooth as a natural receiver, and (OC) Chip Lindsey commented on the 'edge' he brings to the position. While he lined up with the first team on the outside last Monday, he has a ton of potential as a big slot receiver, too." ESPN ranked him as the No. 1 JUCO tight end in the country for the 2017 cycle, No. 36 overall.

Auburn junior RB Kerryon Johnson said that freshman WR Noah Igbinoghene is "top 10 on the team in terms of speed."

Igbinoghene (6'0/190) has speed in his blood -- his mother, Faith, twice won the Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 100 relay. As for her son, Auburn OC Chip Lindsey said that the true frosh wideout "has done a really nice job at wideout, and I’ve noticed him" and that "[h]e can really run, which we knew, but his ball skills have been really impressive." Rivals ranked the four-star receiver as the No. 52 wideout prospect in the country for the 2017 class.

Auburn sophomore DE Marlon Davidson called redshirt freshman DE Nick Coe a "freak of nature."

"Like the real deal. I look at him like Myles Garrett. He can really do it all," Davidson said, adding, "It’s weird how long he’s came. He was just a little stick man coming in. Little, nothing. He grew a lot." The 6-foot-5, 270-pound Coe was a four-star recruit for the 2016 cycle, ranking as Rivals' No. 199 overall prospect in that class. He has packed on in the neighborhood of 30 pounds since he joined the Tigers weighing in at 240.

Auburn sophomore DE Marlon Davidson is wearing a brace on his left arm after spraining his elbow back in spring practice.

Davidson (6'3/280) indicated that this was just a precautionary move. "Everything is good now, I had a UCL sprain (in the spring). Other than that, I’m 100 percent ready to go," he explained. His health will be critical for the Tigers' cause during the coming season -- last year, Davidson started all 13 games as a true freshman and recorded 38 tackles (6.0 for loss), 2.5 sacks, four passes defended and a forced fumble along the way. SEC Country's Oliver Connolly believes that he could contend for the SEC sack-lead during the coming campaign.

Auburn OC Chip Lindsey said that he has been "really impressed" by what he's seen out of redshirt junior QB Sean White.

"Sean is really smart. He’s been around and played a lot, for sure. I’ve liked what I’ve seen from Sean. Sean is a guy that I lean on some, too, because he’s played here," Lindsey said. This past season, the redshirt junior threw for 1,679 yards (63.9% completions) while turning in a 9/3 TD/INT ratio in 11 games played. He suffered a broken arm against Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl which required a long recovery, but has moved past that serious injury. While Auburn continues to insist that there is a quarterback competition between White and Baylor transfer QB Jarrett Stidham, the latter should be considered a heavy favorite to ultimately win the job.

A former ballyhooed JUCO quarterback, Smith transferred to Auburn with the intention of playing receiver. Smith was unable to work his way up the depth chart at receiver -- he had only four receptions last season -- and will now give it a go on defense. SEC Country reports that he's running as the No. 4 safety, for Smith has more work ahead of him if he wants to see the field regularly this fall.